Improvement in paper-folding machines



3Sheets--Sheml G. W. D. UPTUN.

PaperfFolding Machines.

No. 141,405. Parenredjuly 29,1873.

3Sheets-Sheet2` G. W. D. UPTN.

Paper-Folding Machines. I `N0. 141,405. I Patentedjuly 29,1873.

3Sheets-Sheet3.

G. W. D. UPTON. l Paper-Folding Machines.

AM. PHoTa-L/Tllaa/MPH/c co. mi( osBaRNEs PROCESS) NITED STATES GEORGE W. D. UPTON, OF SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN PAPER-FOLDING MACHINES'.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 141,405, dated July Q9, 1873; application filed March 19, 1873.

To all whom tt may concern Beit known that I, GEORGE W. D. UPTON, of Springfield, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Machines for Folding Paper 5 and I do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description thereof', reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings making a part of this specification, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, in which- Figurel is a side view of my invention. Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section through line O of Fig. l, showing the folding-knife in its most elevated position; and Fig. 3 is the same view, showing the folding-knife in its lowest position during the operation of folding.

My invention relates to a machine for folding paper; and it consists of a series of rolls operating in conjunction with endless aprons, and a folding-knife, whereby the sheets of paper, as they are laid upon the table of the machine, are carried by the knife down through an opening in the table, and between the rolls and aprons, and are thereby folded and pressed.

That others skilled in the art may be able to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

In the drawings, A represents a table, having an opening, a', in the top, and supported by a frame, B, and directly beneath the opening a are a series of rolls, D D, c c, c c, and F F, arranged in sets of two to each set, as shown clearly in Figs. 2 and 3, and the three upper sets may be of nearly the same size, and the lower set may be somewhat larger 5 and all these rolls have their bearings in the sides of the frame B, and each set is provided with springs g at their bearings, so that while the two rolls of each set may be forced apart, the springs constantly operate to keep them pressed together, and the springs are so adjusted that the upper set of rolls may be forced apart somewhat easily, while the next lower set, c, are more rigid and firm in their bearing, and the next lower set, e, still more so, and so on, the lower and larger set F bein-g movable only to a limited degree. An endless apron, c', passes over one of the rolls c, and also one of those at c, and is also carried over a roll, e which has its bearings at each end in a pivoted piece, I, which, when forced back and away from the rolls c and e, and secured by the set-screwf, operates to keep the endless apron taut and firm as it passes over the rolls. As two of these endless aprons, c, are used, they pass nearly or quite in contact directly beneath the line of Contact of the two upper rolls D. The upright ways N serve as guides in which the piece Nf-one at eachend of the machine-is operated in a vertical direction by a crank-pin, a," projecting through the horizontal slot h in said piece, the crank-pin being a part of the crank h, attached to and operated by the roll or shaft G. To the pieces N are attached the upright rods a, having attached at their upper ends, and extending from one to the other, the knife or blade E, and these rods move up and down in the recesses a in the sides of the machine, at the ends of the rolls, and are thereby kept in a firm and upright position. Endless cords 'i extend around the rolls i', G, and O, being placed at short intervals along the length of said rolls, and serve to carry the paper, when folded, out through the opening l?. The rolls are moved by belts extending from one to the other, or by toothed wheels, and motion may be communicated by power being applied to one of the large rolls F, or to a pulley made fast to one end thereof. A fixed gage, R, is placed at one side of the table A, at right angles to the opening a', and another movable gage, L,

is placed at right angles to the other gage, It, A

and parallel to the opening. The gageLis so set by its screw Zwith reference to the gage R that the paper may be folded by the knife exactly in the middle of the sheet.

The operation of my invention is as follows: One, two, or any desirable number of sheets of paper are laid upon the table A, one edge against the gage It, and the other against the movable gage L, and motion being given to the' machine, the rod a is caused to perform a vertical reciprocating movement by means of the crank h', and as the knife E passes down it strikes upon the paper laid upon the table and carries it down between the first set of rolls, D, the knife and paper slightly forcing said rolls apart in passing' downI between them, and the rolls are closed in against the knife and paper by the action of the sprinf-s g. The two rolls D not being located so closely in contact, and being more easily forced apart by the knife and paper on account oi the adjustment ofthe springs g, the paper is thereby given its first fold-that is to say, the paper is folded, but the fold is pressed but slightly. The knife then passes on down to the position shown in Fig. 3, carrying the paper with it, and the knife just forces the fold of the paper iu between the endless aprons o and the rolls c, and the springs g behind the bearings of these rolls are so adjusted that said rolls force the aprons aga-inst the pa-per with sufficient force to grasp the paper and carry it downward between the aprons and away from the knife, the latter moving back to its former position above the table, while the paper is carried on down between the rolls e and large rolls F, when the final pressure is given to the fold, after which the folded sheets drop from between the said rolls upon the endless cords fi, and are carried by these out through the aperture P.

I am aware that machines for folding paper have heretofore been made and used wherein a roll or series of rolls have been used in coinbina-tion with a folding-knife; but I ain not aware that such lmachines have been made and used in which the knife passed, with the paper, entirely between and past any set of rolls inconnection with which it was used.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In combination with the rolls D, having Vitnesses:

T. A. CURTIS, C. EUGENE BUGKLAND. 

